


The Tour Guide to My Heart

by cherrylarry



Category: One Direction (Band), Shawn Mendes (Musician)
Genre: African Safari, Animals, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Safari Tour Guide Niall, Teasing, lions and zebras and giraffes oh my, lol I'll see myself out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 00:33:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19734778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrylarry/pseuds/cherrylarry
Summary: "Welcome to your African Safari Experience. I'm your tour guide, Niall Horan. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. We will begin shortly when everyone is seated." The tour guide, Niall announces through the microphone on the open air bus. The speakers carries his voice to the back of the bus where Shawn sitsShawn took this trip on a whim. He was saving up his money so he could broaden his horizons, so when he saw an ad on a website about an African Safari, he couldn't pass it up. It was a spontaneous decision and so far he doesn't regret it one bit.Or, the one where Shawn pines over his Safari tour guide the whole time and Maybe Niall teases him a lot.





	The Tour Guide to My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Three fics in three weeks is very challenging and i give kudos to everyone who writes more than 1k words in one week lol. I had this idea before I even signed up for this challenge and the word this week was perfect!
> 
> This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge for the prompt "zebra". To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt, [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/zebra), and to see all fics written as part of the challenge (including years 1 and 2), [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wordplay_fic_challenge/works). You can also find the masterpost for this year’s challenge [here](https://wordplayfics.tumblr.com/post/185709101043/wordplay-2019-every-week-for-five-weeks-a-prompt).

"Welcome to your African Safari Experience. I'm your tour guide, Niall Horan. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. We will begin shortly when everyone is seated." The tour guide, Niall announces through the microphone on the open air bus. The speakers carries his voice to the back of the bus where Shawn sits

Shawn took this trip on a whim. He was saving up his money so he could broaden his horizons, so when he saw an ad on a website about an African Safari, he couldn't pass it up. It was a spontaneous decision and so far he doesn't regret it one bit.

It might have something to do with the fact that the tour guide is one of the most handsome men he's ever seen. Brunette hair that he covered with a safari hat, and the bluest eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses that Shawn only got a glimpse of but it was enough to see how beautiful those eyes were.

The package he chose was a 7 day trip and the chance to go on game drives with a guide and a group of 5 people. Today is the first day and Shawn is prepared for the 2 and a half hour drive through the Kruger National Park. He has his camera, two bottles of water and a small packet of trail mix. Thankfully he packed some sunscreen in his backpack, too.

"Ah, I see we found our first discovery and we haven't even left yet. Look there folks in the back is a giraffe. Are you here visiting your family? What's your name?" Niall says and within seconds the whole groups’ attention is on him.

Shawn smiles good-naturedly and chuckles while he answers. "My name is Shawn. Yeah I just want to know where I came from since I grew up in Canada."

Niall's eyebrows raise up in surprise. "Canada eh? You're a long way from home aren't ya?"

"You are too, from the sound of your accent. Ireland is it? You probably have people come from all over the world." Shawn feels his face getting warm from the attention of an attractive man.

"Yeh that's true." Niall claps his hands. "Alright! Are we all ready? Let's go then!" Niall gets behind the wheel and starts up the bus. The roar of the engine fills the area briefly before Niall puts it in gear and they're off.

It's a bumpy ride on the trail. Niall explains everything about Kruger National Park and how it came to be and all that. It is very interesting, but Shawn really wants to see a lion or a zebra right about now.

It's a half hour into the drive, the sun is beaming down and it's hot. Shawn reaches in his backpack to reapply his sunscreen.

"Oh look here, folks on your left there's a lioness and her cub." Niall points out. He slows to a stop so everyone can take pictures. Shawn finishes rubbing in the sunscreen on his shoulders and gets out his video camera. The lioness is giving her cub a bath. It's so amazing to see them in their natural habitat like this.

After about ten minutes of watching the lioness, they moved on. Just twenty minutes later, they come across Shawn's giraffes. And Niall doesn't stop teasing Shawn one bit.

"Hey look there Shawny, that's your cousin right there. I think his name is Jeff."

"There's Patsy, your aunt. Ain't she a beaut?"

"What a nice family reunion, folks. Quick someone take a picture for the family album when Shawn gets home. Make sure to get second cousin Albert in there too!"

Shawn is a bit of a shy guy. That’s one of the reasons he took this trip, to get out of his comfort zone and come out of his shell. Traveling, not only out of the country, but to another continent definitely did that. While Niall is going on about his “family” Shawn can’t do anything but smile and laugh as his face turns redder and redder.

When they finally move on from the giraffes, they continue on the bumpy trail. A little while later, after they've spotted both rhinos and hippos, they come across a small group of zebra grazing the grass. “Ooh, looky here folks! My personal favorite, the zebra. What do you all think, are they white with black stripes or black with white stripes? Come on!” Niall says, his voice booming through the speakers. “No one? Alright I’ll tell ya. Zebras are actually black with white stripes. No, no I’m kidding! They are white with black stripes I was just pulling your legs! I bet i got you didn’t I? Yeah, I know I did.”

Shawn is in love with this guy. He’s not that funny but he thinks he is and that shouldn’t really be that cute. He can’t help but laugh at him though and that gets Niall’s attention again. With his sunglasses on, Shawn can’t really meet his eyes but Niall looks right at him and grins The other four people on this drive might as well not be there, since Niall is only paying attention to Shawn.

\----

After the drive is over, Niall says goodbye to everyone as they file out of the bus. Shawn is the last one out since he was in the back and Niall stops him when he starts walking away. Perrie, one of the passengers that Shawn talked to during the drive, winks at him and mouths "get it!" Shawn shoves at her shoulder playfully.

"Hey, I didn't like offend you or anything when I was talking about the giraffes, right? It was just a bit of banter and such. I hope I didn't go too far?" Niall asks Shawn. He had taken his glasses off so now those blue eyes were directed right at Shawn and it was so intense he felt like he was drowning in them. Yes, cliche but let him have this.

Shawn shakes his head. "No, no you didn't go too far. It was funny don't worry." Shawn tries to reassure Niall but his voice is making it hard to believe.

Niall still looks worried so Shawn clears his throat and tries again. "I promise you didn't offend me, Niall." That's better, Niall looks assured now and he smiles at Shawn with his teeth showing.

"Good, I'm glad. I do tend to get carried away when I'm around cute boys so I just wanted to make sure."

"You think I'm cute?" Shawn says with a shy smile and a blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Yeah, of course I think you’re cute, Shawny.”

“I think you’re cute, too.”

“So tomorrow, do you want to go on a one on one game drive? Just the two of us? There’s other guides for everyone else.” Niall asks.

“Yeah I think that would be nice. How about a sunset drive? Would that be okay?”

“That would be perfect. So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

"You will,” Shawn nods with a smile and steps out of the bus.

Perrie is waiting behind the bus and when Shawn walks past her she walks in step to him. “So? What did he say? Are you going on a date or what? Come on give me the goss!” Her British accent is so thick that Shawn can barely understand her.

“We’re going on a sunset drive tomorrow. And he thinks I’m cute.” Shawn tells her.

Perrie gasps dramatically and whack his shoulder. Shawn rubs at the spot while she exclaims, “That is so cute! Shawn!”

“Stop it. It’s no big deal.” Shawn tries to calm her down.

If, when the next day comes and Perrie is in his room rummaging through his clothes that he brought trying to find the perfect date outfit, Niall will be none the wiser.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I do enjoy reading nice comments and receiving kudos!! You can reblog the fic post [here](https://beelou.tumblr.com/post/186166462973)


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